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May 18, 2012

G39: Phillies 6, Red Sox 4

Daniel Bard (5-3-5-5-3, 94) walked three of the first four batters he faced tonight, and allowed four first-inning runs. He threw 32 pitches in the inning, and put the Red Sox in a deep hole.

They chipped away against Hamels (7-6-3-1-9, 113), though. Mike Aviles homered in the third, and Cody Ross doubled and scored in the fourth and then homered in the sixth. Adrian Gonzalez went deep off Chad Qualls in the eighth. But Boston was never able to get any sort of sustained rally going against the Phillies.

Trailing by two runs and facing Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning, Kelly Shoppach reached on an infield hit. He took second when Daniel Nava grounded to first and went to third on Marlon Byrd's grounder to shortstop. Bobby Valentine was ejected for arguing that Byrd was safe because Jimmy Rollins's throw pulled John Mayberry Jr.'s foot off the bag. Replays from numerous angles were inconclusive. Papelbon then struck out Nick Punto on three pitches to end the game.

9 comments:

Comment from wayneswhirld:Hey Allan, Laura and others. Although I'm a stranger on here as I normally don't post, I follow the Sox on JOS just about daily, but sorry, not really a fan. i'm an old Philly guy and back my Fightin' Phils to the hilt. Looking forward to this series! These teams are almost a mirror of each other. Both still in the basement but on the rise (Sox 6 wins in last 7; Phils 5 wins in a row). Pitching match-ups are interesting. Hamels has been lights out and Bard is coming into his own as a starter but has some command issues. Should be a Phils win. Lester vs Blanton on Sat.: Blanton coming back from an injured elbow to be his best in recent years. Lester has been somewhat inconsistent, but can be very dominating when on and just pitched his best game of the year. Sox would be slight favorites. Beckett vs Lee on Sunday: Lee has not had a win so far but should have 4

Allan - thanks for getting part of my post in from yesterday (I had to leave town early before G39 was posted). The rest here (sorry it's so long):

Beckett vs Lee on Sunday: Lee has not had a win so far but should have 4 (37 inn., 34 Ks, 1.95 ERA)…suffered from no run support and blown holds - also was on DL for muscle strain after pitching a 10 inning game. Lee has a strange occasional pattern of giving up a string of extra base hits. Been following Beckett's recent controversies off the field and struggles on the field (and I REALLY don't like him), but he pitched a gem last time out. Note: Beckett's two career homers are at Phil's park. Slight advantage to Phils.

Offensively, the Phils have struggled due mostly to not having the core of their offense: Ryan Howard (rehabbing from torn achilles tendon) and Chase Utley (chronic knee condition). But now the other offensive players are starting jell as a team. Keep an eye on Freddy Galvis, a 22-year-old rookie 2nd basemen - an absolute magician on the field and starting to put it together offensively. The Phil's hottest hitter is catcher Carlos Ruiz. He's hitting .363 with 7 homers (and a 4 hit game last night). When he gets a hit, the fans sound like they're booing, but they're yelling his nickname CHOOOOCH. Right behind him is Juan Pierre at .343, an aging veteran who was released by the White Sox.

As to coming together for the Sox, maybe that is happening with Bobby Valentine as manager after a rough beginning.

And…..not to forget…..Cinco Ocho. I criticized him last year after his comments following the devastating loss to the O's, but he's been great for the Phils: 11 of 11 in save opportunities. The rest of the Phils bullpen has been largely ineffective, blowing a lot of leads in the late innings.

I'm particularly wary of two Sox players: Cody Ross and Daniel Nava. They are Phillie killers. And of course Big Papi who is outright dangerous. Will also like to see Will Middlebrooks.

I would check out the Sox on TV if I could, but I have the MLB.TV package and am blacked out from the Sox here in Vermont since I don' have NESN…I've seen a few of their games in archive.

BUT, I can see tonight's game as my wife and I are going to an inn in Stowe for one night and they have NESN there…poor wife!